>Date: Sun, 12 Jul 1998 21:09:37 +0000
>From: Marta Russell <ap888 at lafn.org>
>
>alec ramsdell wrote:
>>
> There are countless political, socioeconomic,
>> etc. implications of that (it's true: addicts can easily qualify for
>> disability!),
>
>This used to be so - until Bill Clinton signed the Personal
>Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act(1996) better known as Welfare
>"Reform". Alcoholism/addiction is no longer a definition of disability
>i.e., one cannot collect SSI on that basis, one has to have other
>conditions to qualify or remain on disability benefits. And it is MUCH
>more difficult to get disability benefits in recent years.
>
>Marta Russell
>
By saying "addicts can easily qualify . . ." I had in mind dual
diagnosis. When I was at the treatment center I talked to others who
had received disability through being additionally diagnosed with
deppression by a psychiatrist. I saw a psychiatrist too and discovered
it's not too difficult to be diagnosed with depression, you just don't
even have to really ask nicely with some doctors, just as many doctors
are pretty generous with doling out opiate pain-killers.
Is the dual-diagnosis qualification true?
-Alec
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